Rome is home to Europe's oldest continuous Jewish community, dating back as early the 3rd century BC.

In the 16th century, hostility towards the Jewish community was on the rise, and Pope Paul IV confined the Jews of Rome to the 21/2-acre area now known as the Jewish Ghetto. Built on a frequently flooded bend of the Tiber River, a wall was built around it, a curfew was imposed and living conditions were crowded and unhygienic.

Also located within Piazza dei Miracoli and dating back to 1648, it is one of the oldest Hebrew cemeteries in Europe, with inscriptions in Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and Czech.

The Teatro Grande in Pompeii was built in the 5th century B.C and rebuilt in the 1st century A.D. It sat as many as 5,000 spectators. There were 3 price ranges: marble terraces up close, with wooden seats for two; the main section, and cheap seats up near the canvas rooftop.

The exclusive box seats offer a view in addition to the stage – the gladiators’ barracks and courtyard out back.

Begun at the end of the fourteenth century but not completed until the eighteenth, when the Baroque genius Juvarra added the cupola.

The church is reckoned to be Italy's best example of Gothic-Renaissance fusion: the Gothic spirit clear in the fairy-tale pinnacles, rose windows and buffoonish gargoyles; that of the Renaissance in its portals and in the presence of the two pagans flanking the main west door - the Elder and Younger Plinys, both of whom were born in Como. Inside, the Gothic aisles are hung with rich Renaissance tapestries.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, this famous Italian Renaissance church is one of the most striking monuments of the 15th century, and it holds one of the world’s great masterpieces in its refectory, The Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci.

The church itself was built in the late 1400’s, and an addition by the architect Bramante was added in a few years later. In The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci cleverly painted the perspective to look like it is part of its setting.

Brunelleschi's stupendous architectural monument dominates the cityscape. The close-up view is even more breathtaking, with the multicolored Duomo rising behind the marble-clad Baptistry.

Its construction, particularly the cupola, was one of the most impressive achievements of the Renaissance, requiring a special technique that made it possible to create the curves of the huge cupola without a supporting framework.

A broletto is a “palace of the commune,” a public building dedicated to secular use. The 13th century Broletto in Como is prettily striped in pink, white and grey marble. Located next to the cathedral, it has been a town hall, a theater and is now an exhibitions center in the downtown district.